Pneumatic carrier load ejector construction

ABSTRACT

A load ejector construction for material-conveying carriers in pneumatic tube systems, particularly captive carriers for conducting bank transactions. An ejector plate is pivotally mounted at its lower end by a flexible hinge adjacent an end of the carrier to which a door is pivotally mounted opposite the ejector plate. The ejector plate moves by gravity towards the open doorway when said opposite door is opened from a retracted position to an extended position within the carrier forcing the contents out of the carrier through the exposed doorway.

United States Patent Kettering PNEUMATIC CARRIER LOAD EJECTOR CONSTRUCTION [72] Inventor: Dale 0. Kettering, Canton, Ohio [73] Assignee: Diebold, Incorporation, I

Ohio

221 Filed: July 28,1970 21 Appl.No.:58,850

[52] US. Cl ..243/34, 243/39, 206/DIG. 26, 220/38 [51] Int. Cl ..B65g 51/06 [58] Field of Search ..243/32, 34, 35, 39; 220/DIG. 26, 38

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,237,884 3/1966 Grosswiller ..243/34 3,422,988 1/1969 Franca ..220/38 Canton,

[ 1 Sept. 12, 1972 227,719 5/1880 Barnett ..206/DIG. 26

1,758,338 5/1930 Simos ..206/DlG. 6

2,327,120 8/1943 McCoon ..206/DIG. 26

Primary Examiner-Harvey C. Homsby Attorney-Frease and Bishop 57 ABSTRACT 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDSEP 12 I972 SHEET 1 OF 2 E /C Q 9//' 1 24 8/ J, m

I\- YE" T y? Dale 0. Kebleri/ Fly. Z "1/ 9W & W

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Related Patents The invention involves improvements on the Grosswiller; et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,884, dated Mar. 1, 1966.

1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to pneumatic. tube system carriers; and particularly to captive carriers which move to and from a remote customers station'in a pneumatic tube system used for performingbanking service. More particularly the invention relates to an ejector means or plate located within the carrier which acts by gravity and other means to force the material out of the doorway exposed when the carrier door is opened to a location within easy reach of a customer in an auto adjacent the customer station transacting a banking operation.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many types of carriers are used in pneumatic tube systems, either captive or non-captive carriers. Captive carriers generally have associated means providing for automatically opening or closing a carrier door at a system terminal, such as a customer terminal where material is placed in or taken from a carrier in performing a banking transaction. Such captive carriers frequently are used in drivein banking equipment where the customer transacts his business from an automobile. The carrier should be as close to the customers car as possible in such situations to eliminate customer inconvenience of having to reach too far through an auto window, or of having to leave the car to transact the desired business.

A typical carrier is shown in US. Pat. No. 3,237,884 wherein a carrier door when opened serves as a tray for the material being placed in or removed from the carrier. However, frequently the material handled, due to its size and nature, sticks or is held within the carrier and does not fall outward into the carrier door. Thus, the customer must reach clear into the carrier to remove the material, which may not be conveniently possible in V which achieves the stated objects in a simple, effective that the material may be out of reach through the automobile window or may require the customer to get out of the automobile to remove the material from the carrier. No known carrier construction provides a simple or convenient mechanism to eliminate this problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Objectives of the invention include providing a pneumatic tube carrier load ejector construction which normally prevents material from being stuck or held within a captive carrier when the carrier door is opened at a terminal; providing a load ejector construction unaffected by repeated sudden stopping and fast acceleration at tube terminals; providing a load ejector construction which does not interfere with carrier loading operations at a terminal; providing a load ejector construction which forces or pushes the carrier contents by gravity or other meansthrough the open door in a simple and effective manner; providing a load ejector construction for carriers used in pneumatic tube system banking equipment and which is readily adapted for use in existing equipment or in conversion of existing carriers; and providing a device of simple construction and inexpensive manner, and which solves problems and satisfies needs existing in the art.

These and other objectives and advantages may be obtained by the carrier load ejector construction, the general nature of which may be stated as including walls forming a pneumatic tube system carrier with a box-like chamber; at least one doorway formed by said walls, door means for the doorway having a preferably tray-like generally rectangular closure wall, hinge means mounting one end of the door means to one end of the carrier for hinged door means opening and closing movement; spring means normally urging the door means to open position; latch means for latching the door means closed; ejector means for the carrier including a plate having a swinging end, a hinge endand an offset pressure zone intermediate said ends; hinge means connecting the ejector plate hinge end to a carrier wall opposite said door means, said ejector hinge connection being adjacent said one carrier end; the ejector plate having a center of gravity laterally offset toward said door means; whereby when the door means is opened the ejector plate swinging end moves by gravity aboutits hinge end, when the carrier end adjacent the ejector hinge end is at the bottom of the carrier, to move the ejector pressure zone toward said doorway to push material in the carrier chamber engaged by said pressure zone out of the chamber through said doorway; and stop means on the ejector plate limiting movement of the ejector plate toward said doorway.

PREFERRED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention illustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying theprinciples is set forth in the following description and shown in the drawings, and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims. 7

FIG. 1 is a front elevation, with portions broken away, of a typical carrier with the new load ejector construction incorporated therein; r

FIG. 2 is a side elevation, with portions broken away and in section; of the carrier shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33, FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the load ejector plate removed from the carrier;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 on a smaller scale showing the carrier door open with the ejector plate in ejection position;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with the carrier turned end for end and a second carrier door in open position; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of a pneumatic tube system in which the carrier of FIGS. 1 to 6 may be used having a teller station and a customer station.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A typical pneumatic tube system for transacting banking services is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 7 and includes a customer station C, a teller station T and a pneumatic conveyor tube P connecting the stations C and T. A captive carrier 1 is generally indicated in the position that it assumes at each station, equipped with the new ejector construction; although only one carrier will be used in the system shown. Carrier 1 may have the construction shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,884 modified by installing the improved ejector construction therein.

Carrier 1 includes a base member 2 at each end formed integrally with two side column members 3. An

accelerating disc 4 and a felt cushion end 5 are mounted on each base 2.

A hinge strap 6 is mounted on each base 2 by bolts 7. Door members indicated. at 8 and 9 each have a generally rectangular closure wall 10 and chute-like side walls 1 1 which form a rectangular box-like payload containing chamber 12 between members 3 (FIG. 3). A hinge strap 13 at one end of each wall 10 through a hinge pin 13a pivotally connects doors 8 and 9 to straps 6 on bases 2. Spring-pressed plungers 14 mounted in each base 2 impart opening movement to doors 8 and 9 by engaging edges 15 of door side walls 11 FIG. 2).

A V-shaped runner strip 16 is centrally mounted on each door closure wall 10. Bars 17 project from the ends of strips 16 beyond swinging edges 18 of doors 8 and 9.

Each door has a latch mechanism including latch members 19 slidably mounted on bases 2 retained by bolts 20 extending through elongated slots 21 in members l9. Latches 19 each have an actuator ear 22 at one end and may be spring-pressed by a spring (not shown) at the other end. A beveled latch formation 23 is located intermediate the ends of each latch 19 (FIG. 1) enabling movement of members 19 to automatically latch ears 17 when the doors are moved to closed position.

An ejector plate indicated at 24 (FIG. 4) is located in chamber 12 and is preferably formed of translucent or transparent plastic.

Plate 24 has a swinging end 26, a hinge end 25 and an offset pressure zone 27 intermediate the ends 25 and 26. As shown plate 24 may have a shallow V-shape with the pressure zone 27 at the apex of the V.

A U-shaped flexible hinge 28 formed preferably of flexible plastic, leather, or other flexible material connects hinge end 25 to door 8 adjacent the swinging door edge 18 of door 8 by rivets 30 or other suitable attachment means. Hinge 28 is spaced from the edge 31 of ejector hinge end 25 so that plate portion 32 extending between hinge 28 and edge 31 forms a stop member to limit movement of plate 24 on hinge 28.

Hinge 28 desirably is formed of a semi-rigid plastic material strip which can be bent upon itself as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 but which has live or return properties which cause it to return or tend to return to a spread-out shape or condition. Thus, the hinge member 28 in itself urges or biases ejector plate 24 toward extended position shown in FIG. 5.

Ejector plate 24 occupies a relatively small space within chamber 12 and is located close to door 8 when in fully retracted position as shown by dot-dash lines in FIG. 2, so as not to unduly limit the amount of material that may be placed in chamber 12.

Carrier 1, in usual operation of the pneumatic tube system travels between a teller station or terminal T and customer station or terminal C to convey in chamber 12 banking transaction material between the stations, such as an envelope 33. Carrier I normally stops at either terminal in an upright or vertical position (FIG. 7). FIG. 5 shows the position of carrier 1 with its door 9 open and ejector plate 24 in extended position with hinge 28 being located adjacent the bottom end of carrier 1. These are the relative positions of the parts when a carrier 1 is at a customer station C as shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 6, the carrier is turned end for end with hinge 28 now being located adjacent the top end of carrier 1 and with door 8 open and the parts in the relative positions existing when the carrier 1 is at a teller station T also as shown in FIG. 7.

Door 9 opens upon arriving at customer station C to the inclined position shown in FIG. 5. The resilience of hinge 28 and the center of gravity of plate 24 result in plate 24 being urged to swing towards the doorway opened by door 9. The pressure zone 27 on plate 24 pushes any envelope, passbook, or like material located within chamber 12 out of the chamber so that it drops into the tray-like area formed by door members 10 and 11.

Plate 24 is prevented from swinging out of the doorway beyond chamber 12 by stop member 32 which engages door 8 and limits swinging movement of ejector plate 24. Thus, plate 24 sweeps or clears contained material from chamber 12 upon opening door 9 at the customer station C, and yet plate 24 is out of the way when material is placed on either of the doors 8 or 9 at either station C or T.

Door 8 also opens upon arrival at the teller station T to a position as shown in FIG. 6 where no ejector action is needed due to the proximity of the teller to carrier 1.

Plate 24 remains close to door 8 when the door is open at a tellers station T, due to the center of gravity of plate 24 overcoming the resilience of hinge 28, permitting a teller to remove material from and place material in chamber 12 without interference by plate 24. Plate 24 automatically is forced into retracted position by the carrier contents when door 8 is closed by a teller. This condition is shown in FIG. 2 wherein the position of the parts with a contained envelope is shown just as the carrier arrives at a customer station C but before door 9 opens. Thus, plate 24 is in proper position for ejecting the enclosed material upon arrival of carrier 1 at customer station C without any manipulation of plate 24 by the teller or customer.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 7, plate 24 is hinged at 28 adjacent the carrier base member or end wall 2 which is the bottom wall of the carrier 1 when the carrier is located at a customer station C; and the door 9 which opens at the customer station C also is hinged to the carrier adjacent such bottom wall.

The improved ejector construction functions for its intended purpose even though hinged at 28 to a carrier wall which does not open such as a carrier with only one door 9 and the other carrier chamber wall which as shown is formed by door 8, replaced by a permanent wall 10.

Simplicity, convenience and efficiency are enhanced by the structural arrangement and location of the ejector plate completely within the carrier body. Thus, no components project from the equipment into the tube to become damaged or broken. Likewise, the ejector operates automatically requiring no manipulation by either a customer or teller at any time and is completely out of the way for normal use of the carrier.

Economies are achieved in adapting the ejector construction to existing carriers requiring no modifications or production changes in the manufacture of new carriers. Further, the ejector construction components are easily and inexpensively formed and attached to existing carriers.

Accordingly, the construction is simplified, provides an effective, safe, inexpensive, and efficient construction which achieves all the enumerated objectives, provides for eliminating difficulties encountered with prior devices, and solves problems and obtains new results in the art.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.

Having now described the features, discoveries, and principles of the invention, the manner in which the carrier load ejector construction is constructed and used, the characteristics of the new construction, and the advantageous, new and useful results obtained; the new and useful structures, devices, elements, arrangements, parts, and combinations, are set forth in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. Pneumatic tube system carrier construction including walls forming a box-like payload chamber and having first and second opposite ends, first and second doorways formed in opposite sides of the carrier providing access to said chamber formed by said walls; first and second door means for said first and second doorways, respectively; first and second hinge means mounting said first and second door means, respective ly, on the carrier for movement between opened and closed position; said first and second hinge means being located adjacent to said first and second ends, respectively, of the carrier; ejector means for the carrier including an ejector plate having a swinging end, a pivot end, andv an offset pressure zone intermediate said ends; pivot means located adjacent the first carrier end and including a biased resilient member mounting the ejector plate on the first door means within the carrier chamber opposite the second door means for movement of the ejector plate between retracted and extended position, the center of gravity of said ejector plate being laterally offset toward said second doorway with respect to the pivot means, said pivot means urging the ejector toward extended position; the ejector plate having stop means limiting the movement of said plate toward the second doorway; the combination of said ejector plate weight and the bias of the pivot means resilient member urging the ejector plate toward extended position about said pivot means when said first end of the carrier is the bottom end of the carrier, whereby the ejector plate forces the contents of the chamber through the second doorway when the second door means is opened; and the weight of the ejector plate overcoming the bias of the said pivot means resilient member when said second end is the bottom of the carrier and said first door means is in open position to maintain the ejector plate swinging end adjacent the second door means.

2. Carrier construction as defined in claim 1 in which the ejector plate pivot means is connected to the plate spaced from one plate edge, in which the plate portion between the pivot means connection and said plate edge comprises said stop means, and in which said edge engages said first door means to limit plate movement.

3. Carrier construction as defined in claim 1 in which the resilient member comprises a U-shaped plastic member formed of semi-rigid plastic material; and in which the U-shaped member connects the ejector plate to the first door means.

4. Carrier construction as defined in claim 1 in which the ejector plate has a shallow V-shape cross section with its pressure zone at the apex of the V. 

1. Pneumatic tube system carrier construction including walls forming a box-like payload chamber and having first and second opposite ends, first and second doorways formed in opposite sides of the carrier providing access to said chamber formed by said walls; first and second door means for said first and second doorways, respectively; first and second hinge means mounting said first and second door means, respEctively, on the carrier for movement between opened and closed position; said first and second hinge means being located adjacent to said first and second ends, respectively, of the carrier; ejector means for the carrier including an ejector plate having a swinging end, a pivot end, and an offset pressure zone intermediate said ends; pivot means located adjacent the first carrier end and including a biased resilient member mounting the ejector plate on the first door means within the carrier chamber opposite the second door means for movement of the ejector plate between retracted and extended position, the center of gravity of said ejector plate being laterally offset toward said second doorway with respect to the pivot means, said pivot means urging the ejector toward extended position; the ejector plate having stop means limiting the movement of said plate toward the second doorway; the combination of said ejector plate weight and the bias of the pivot means resilient member urging the ejector plate toward extended position about said pivot means when said first end of the carrier is the bottom end of the carrier, whereby the ejector plate forces the contents of the chamber through the second doorway when the second door means is opened; and the weight of the ejector plate overcoming the bias of the said pivot means resilient member when said second end is the bottom of the carrier and said first door means is in open position to maintain the ejector plate swinging end adjacent the second door means.
 2. Carrier construction as defined in claim 1 in which the ejector plate pivot means is connected to the plate spaced from one plate edge, in which the plate portion between the pivot means connection and said plate edge comprises said stop means, and in which said edge engages said first door means to limit plate movement.
 3. Carrier construction as defined in claim 1 in which the resilient member comprises a U-shaped plastic member formed of semi-rigid plastic material; and in which the U-shaped member connects the ejector plate to the first door means.
 4. Carrier construction as defined in claim 1 in which the ejector plate has a shallow V-shape cross section with its pressure zone at the apex of the V. 